THE TURKISH government is trying to block access to video-sharing website YouTube in the country, after an alleged audio recording of top officials was leaked online.

The recording purportedly features Turkey's foreign minister, intelligence chief and top military and foreign ministry officials discussing possible military operations in Syria.

Turkey's foreign ministry said today the leaking of the recording was a "wretched attack" on national security and those behind it would receive the heaviest punishment.

The government is now seeking to have YouTube banned, and state-run Anadolu news service said the national telecommunications authorities had instituted the block.

The website was still accessible following the announcement, but a telecommunications authority webpage gave the following information for YouTube.com: "After technical analysis and legal consideration based on the law, administrative measure has been taken for this website."

The move echoes a similar move last week against social media site Twitter.

That ban, which came after prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "wipe out Twitter" as users spread allegations of government corruption, was overturned by a Turkish court yesterday.

The country's telecommunication authority (TIB) has 30 days to decide whether to lift the Twitter ban.